Time Moves So Fast
by Scarlet has Fantasy Issues
Summary: Pegasus reflects on the life he's spent with his niece. Ties with 'That's Not Love' characters.


**A/N: I have no idea why I created this story. It simply appeared in my head one day and this is what I got out of it. Enjoy!**

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Pegasus listened to the officer and doctor tell him the horrible news. His brother, Richard, and his sister-in-law had been killed in a car accident. They had died together a few hours ago, but the doctors had only just given up on trying to save them.

_How could so many lives be taken from my life?_ Pegasus thought, signing the paperwork that was presented to him. _First Cecilia and then my own brother and my sister-in-law...Have I angered the gods?_

"Mr. Pegasus," someone else in a suit began, standing in the doorway to the room that he had been pulled into. "May I have a word with you?"

"Oh, yes," he muttered, hardly glancing her way. _Everyone seems to want to talk to me now..._

"Your brother was on his way to pick up his daughter from school before the accident," the woman said. "And since you're her godfather and uncle...I thought that you would want to tell her what happened."

"Alyssa?"

Pegasus had forgotten about the little seven year old during all of the chaos. _She must be so terrified and confused...Poor Angel..._

"Yes sir," the woman said. "But if it's too much right now. I'll take her to a grief counselor and -"

"No, no. She's my niece," Pegasus said, getting to his feet. "I will – I will tell her myself, if you don't mind."

The woman nodded and turned to look at someone who Pegasus couldn't see. "Alyssa, would you like to see your uncle?"

A little girl walked into the room and looked at Pegasus with big, green eyes. A red bow sat on top of her brown hair and her hands twisted in her coat. She didn't run to him like she used to when she was younger, but Pegasus didn't expect her to.

"Uncle?" she asked quietly. "Where's Mommy?"

"Oh Angel," he whispered, crouching down in front of her. "Your mom and dad have been in a horrible accident..."

"Oh..."

That was all she said. She didn't ask him when her parents were going to be coming home. She didn't ask him if they were all right. It was like she was very aware of what was going on. When Pegasus told her what had happened and that her parents were in Heaven, she only shed one tear and touched the locket around her neck. And he had to take her home after that.

He didn't move her away from her father's mansion or take her to his island home. Someone had told him that it would be wiser for him to keep her in a familiar place until she grew up. Pegasus didn't exactly feel comfortable living in the same house that his brother had inhabited, choosing to sleep in a guest room rather than the master bedroom, but he did it for the sake of Alyssa.

For a week, she hardly spoke. She simply went about her daily life without her parents and paid him little attention. Without any distraction, Pegasus slipped into depression. His brother was dead. His wife was dead. He had a seven year old to worry about and she didn't seem to care a thing about him. And to top it all off, they were canceling the cartoon that had been on since he was a little kid. To him, his life was over.

At the end of the month, school was out for the summer. Alyssa came up to him, holding his old paint supplies. She dropped them at his feet and sat next to him on the couch.

"Do you paint Uncle?" she asked.

"Yes, but I haven't painted in awhile, Angel," Pegasus muttered, sipping a cup of tea. "Not since -"

"You should Uncle," Alyssa cut across him. "You need something to take your mind off of all the bad things...C'mon. I know a place in the park that has pretty flowers."

"I don't know Alyssa..."

"Uncle, we're going to the park. And you will find something to paint." She gave him a look that was so much like a look that her father had given him when they were growing up. "I don't care what it is, just paint."

She picked up his paint supplies and marched off to wait by the car. She stood there for an hour before Pegasus was sure that she wasn't going to give up.

He took her to the park and situated himself in the area that she told him about. There were wildflowers everywhere and butterflies and bees flitted from the little flowers like fairies dancing in the sunlight. Alyssa danced about the area, plucking up flowers and making herself a little bouquet. Pegasus tried to find beauty in all that was around him, but with the bad things still swirling about his mind, he found very little beauty in the world.

"Uncle! Uncle! Look!" Alyssa sang, turning to him.

A beautiful black and blue butterfly was perched on her finger. Alyssa looked at him with wide eyes and smiled. Pegasus couldn't help but smile back. Unlike other children who would have danced about and scared the butterfly away, Alyssa remained perfectly calm and didn't move around very much. She simply walked until he could see the markings of the butterfly and stood there. The butterfly stirred and flitted into the air before perching itself on the end of Alyssa's little nose. A bright smile appeared on her face and she didn't move another inch.

Pegasus was struck by how pretty his niece was and how she seemed to be the symbol of what was still good in life. She didn't know it then, but she had been the one to start the healing process in his life.

A little while later, Pegasus was sitting under a tree, looking up at the sky. Alyssa was dancing in the field again, but all of a sudden, she was plopping down next to him. Pegasus glanced down at her when she rested her cheek against his shoulder and took one of his hands.

"I love you, Uncle," she whispered, closing her eyes.

"I love you too, Angel," Pegasus whispered.

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Alyssa was sixteen now, so full of life and had so much responsibility under her belt. She was the secretary for Kaiba Corp, the spokesperson for Industrial Illusions, babysitter to Mokuba, and volunteered for many other positions that Pegasus was sure she didn't haveenough time in the day for. But somehow she managed and kept a bright smile on her face.

She was preparing for prom, leaving him to pace by the foot of the staircase. He had seen the make up she had bought, he had the corsage for her, and he had seen her practice wearing the shoes. But he had never seen the dress that his niece was going to be wearing and that worried him.

_What if it's too low cut? What if it's too tight? What if it's too short? My dear Angel can't be showing herself off to men like that! She wouldn't do that to her poor uncle, would she? Of course not!_

Pegasus sighed. He had trusted Alyssa to pick a suitable dress. He had seen the way she dressed everyday and from that he knew that she was comfortable with her body, but still managed to remain decent. Nothing was ever shown that shouldn't and everything was adequately covered. She dressed very professionally and people respected her for that.

And he knew that she wasn't going to wear something too risque. He had seen her buy the dresses of eleven other girls, who had she not bought a dress for, they wouldn't have been able to attend prom. She had used her own money to buy them the best gowns for their bodies and she had pampered them the entire day, no matter how she really felt about them.

'All girls deserve to feel like a princess at prom and on their wedding day,' she had said to him on the ride home from the day of shopping. 'Some are not fortunate enough to have the money to buy dresses and I have too much of it...I thought I'd be nice and help make their special night, extra special.'

Pegasus had been so proud of her then. She was probably the least selfish person in the upper class that he knew and he knew quite a lot of them. She never asked for money – she was babysitting Mokuba for free – and what money she had no use for, and that was a lot, she gave away to charities and homeless people she knew could use the extra cash. She helped build homes, paid people's mortgages off so they would have one less bill to worry about, saved homes from foreclosure, and did a number of other things to help those struggling with household problems.

"Uncle, I need another minute!" Alyssa called down the stairs. "I just lost the hairspray...Never mind! I found it!"

Pegasus chuckled. _Oh how you amuse me, Alyssa..._

He could hear her singing upstairs and imagined her dancing around like a little girl. Oh, it seemed like just yesterday she was skipping around, singing the theme song for one of her childish TV shows with paint all over her hands. How he missed those days of childish innocence...It was a painful reminder that his little niece was growing up fast and would soon be leaving him to pursue her dreams of a new family of her own design. And as much as he loved the idea of holding one of her children, he missed being able to hold her in his arms as they watched cartoons in their pajamas in the early morning.

"Okay Uncle, I'm ready!" Alyssa called down the stairs once more.

Pegasus looked at the professional photographer he had hired to follow Alyssa around at prom, making sure the man was ready. He looked back at the stairs when he heard the sound of heels clicking lightly against the wood of the stairs.

His niece smiled at him as she descended the stairs, a hand trailing on the railing as she slowly made her way down. Her dress was a beautiful shade of blue and was long enough to cover her feet. It wasn't too low cut and it wasn't too tight. It was a perfect fit for her and Pegasus felt a surge of pride course through him as he took in the rest of her appearance and how beautiful it was.

"So, what do you think Uncle?" she asked once she was at the bottom of the stairs, doing a small turn. "Do I look pretty?"

"You look beautiful," Pegasus told her, slipping the corsage onto her wrist. "The boys will all want to dance with you and the girls will be green with envy."

Alyssa laughed lightly. "Thanks Uncle..." She looked at the door when she heard the rev of an engine. "That will be my date. I should get going." She looked at him once more. "Will you save a dance for me when I get back?"

"Yes."

She hugged him then, placing a small kiss on his cheek. "I love you, Uncle." And with that, she was gone for the night with her photographer.

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Pegasus stood outside of Alyssa's door, straightening in his tie for the fiftieth time. He could hear Alyssa chatting with her bride's maids in there, talking about her wedding and how happy she was. He was so happy for her. She was finally marrying Seto Kaiba, the man that Pegasus was so sure would take care of her the way she should be. She didn't choose a regular maid of honor, instead she chose a man of honor, Tristan, who had been her friend for years through all the chaos that she had gone through in recent months. Carrie was one of her bride's maids and Pegasus was glad to see that his other niece was accepting the job as gracefully as she could.

The bride's maids stepped out of the room to find their corresponding partners, leaving the door wide open. Pegasus stepped forward, only to close the door to give his niece a moment of privacy, but she saw him reflected in the mirror and called him in.

Pegasus could not believe how much she had grown up in these past four years of her life. Where once an awkward school girl had stood, a confident woman stood, dressed in a simple wedding gown. On her, the dress seemed to be made of the finest materials and looked very flattering. She was the picture of beauty in Pegasus' mind...and with a heavy heart, Pegasus knew that she was making that final step in leaving him as she stepped into the role of wife.

"Alyssa, you look...beautiful," Pegasus said, shutting the door behind him. "Kaiba is a very lucky man to have someone like you in his life."

"Thank you Uncle." Alyssa smiled, her eyes twinkling with happiness. She reached out and took one of his hands in hers. "Uncle, thank you for everything you've done for me in all of these years...Thank you for being a father to me when you faced so much loss at once...Thank you for helping me grow up from an awkward little girl into what I am now. Without you, I wouldn't be where I am today...I'd be lost and alone in this world, but thanks to the light and warmth you offered me, I am here. I'm making my first step into being an adult by becoming the wife of the man you introduced to me when I was a young girl. Thank you for always being there for me when I needed someone to talk to and for being strict with your rules so I never really got hurt and was never corrupted by the ways of others...Thank you Uncle for just being here with me...I love you with all my heart, just like you were my real father...I love you, so much."

Pegasus hugged her and wiped away the crystal tears that fell from her eyes. "I love you with all my heart, as well Angel...to me, you will always be the daughter I never had. You and Care-bear..."

Minutes later, Alyssa was walking down the aisle with him, a smile on her face and her eyes shining with tears of happiness. Pegasus gave her over to Kaiba and stepped back to watch his little girl make that final step at growing up.

_Time indeed, moves so fast these days_, Pegasus thought as Alyssa and Kaiba shared their first kiss as husband and wife.

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**A/N: And so ends this little one shot. Please take the time to review because I seriously need some feedback on this little slice. Thanks!**


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